[目录] [Building the Myths of Rise of the Tomb Raider] [Finding Inspiration for Rise of the Tomb Raider] [Research and Reference in Rise of the Tomb Raider] [Building from Life] [Creating Believable Hair and Fur] [Creating Believable Materials] [Creating Believable Skin and Character Material Effects] [Creating Motion and Emotion with Animation] [Bringing Lara to Life with Blendshapes] [Physically Based Rendering and Post Effects] [Building Larger Worlds with More Fidelity] [Snow Tech and Houdini Simulations] [Scoring Dynamic Combat with Procedural Music] [“I Must Not Fear”] [The Bear Chase] [Rise of the Tomb Raider for Stealth Gamers] [Rise of the Tomb Raider for Puzzle Gamers] [The Evolution of Tomb Raider Hubs] [Expedition Modes] [A Little Thing About A Little Thing]
Dev Blog: Creating Believable Skin and Character Material Effects
Kam Yu, Lead Character Artist
[Leading into the launch of Rise of the Tomb Raider, we’ll feature a variety of developer blogs that lift the curtain on the creation of Lara’s first great tomb raiding expedition.]
Another factor that helps make a 3D character believable is the quality of the skin. A typical material used in games tends to render surfaces hard and opaque. Real skin, on the other hand, is soft and slightly translucent. Light penetrates the surface, some of it scattered (sub-surface scattering) and absorbed with only a portion bouncing back. The skin material used in Rise of the Tomb Raider simulates this phenomenon and gives the characters a more life-like appearance.
The following images show the effects of sub-surface scattering (SSS) on Lara’s skin. On the right you see the skin with SSS turned on. On the left, the SSS is turned off.
The skin material is also capable of showing the backscattering effect of a strong light source when positioned behind the character. The ears turn red as the light penetrates through them.
Character Material Effects
The material effects on the characters are an integral part of the game meant to show character progression and to give a sense of connection between the characters and environments. There are four basic effects for each character: Dirty, Bloody, Snowy and Wet. Each effect can be ramped from 0-100% and beyond. They can also be layered, for example, 50% dirty and 50% bloody.
Pictured below is Lara’s blood effect.
Shown below is the progressive dirt and snow effect on Lara.
The effects can be triggered by specific events such as combat or swimming. Any effect will “wash” off if Lara dives into water or if it starts raining. The wet effect itself will diminish over a short period of time.
The material system in Rise of the Tomb Raider plays a large role in making the characters realistic. They provide detail and dynamics that help immerse the player in the game.
Kam Yu
Lead Character Artist, Rise of the Tomb Raider
